Sandra Soto, PhD

Sandra Soto, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research examines the social influences of health behaviors among Latinos. By incorporating Latino cultural values, Dr. Soto aims to develop effective behavioral modification interventions to prevent and manage chronic diseases.

Dr. Soto has recently received a Career Development Award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIHMD) (K01MD015290) to develop a dyadic physical activity (PA) intervention for Latinos with osteoarthritis and a member of their social network. This study will develop an intervention shaped by the cultural value of interdependence to engage Latinos with osteoarthritis and their family members/friends equally, thus positively influencing each other’s PA. By using a factorial experiment, this study will identify the most potent dyadic PA intervention components that will be retained and tested as an intervention package in a future randomized controlled trial.